


Benny's jacket

by Frasers_soulmate, happy29



Category: due South
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6133437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frasers_soulmate/pseuds/Frasers_soulmate, https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy29/pseuds/happy29
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about friendship...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Benny's jacket

**Author's Note:**

> A translation from the German story "Benny's Jacke". For all my English speaking friends.  
> Thank you, happy29 for helping with the grammar.

"Can't you let him finally leave alone? " Ray snapped at his sister Frannie, as they dropped Ben off at his apartment. The three friends had dinner together and had been to the movies. Francesca had been flirting with Ben as usual. And also, as usual, he had reacted with embarrassment. 

Frannie snorted. 

" I didn't do anything yet! " She was offended. 

" Frannie! " Ray shouted angrily.  
She sighed wistfully. "Look at him. He looks good in this old leather jacket. "

 

At night, as Ray lay in bed, he thought about what his sister had said. Yes, Benton Fraser looked really good in this jacket. He must admit it, even if he was a man. 

 

Ben's jacket...

Ray remembered. After Ben was discharged from the hospital, Ma Vecchio insisted that " the boy " should stay with them until he could stand on his own two feet. Literally.  
Ray agreed immediately, but it was his fault that his friend was there. HE had shot him and Ben had HIS bullet in the back. He still blamed himself. 

It took a lot of persuasion, but finally Benny agreed. He must have realized that he wasn't able to manage his life alone at the moment, even though he would never admit it. 

So he moved to the Vecchio's and lived in their guest room, which Ray's Ma had lovingly decorated for her Canadian adoptive son. 

Ray sighed as he thought back to this bad time, when Ben was in the hospital and no one could say whether he would survive. 

Ben's jacket...

His favorite leather jacket. He was wearing it on that fateful evening on the train platform. Of course, it was ruined. 

The hospital had passed Ray Ben's personal belongings. He took them home. The shirt and undershirt were beyond saving. A gaping hole was in the back and everything was soaked with blood.  
Ray's Ma threw it away. She also wanted the jacket thrown away, but Ray wouldn't allow it.  
" It's Benny's favorite jacket, Ma.", he sobbed. " If he's healthy again, he will have it back. "

Ma Vecchio put her arm around his shoulders. " I don't know, mi caro. Look, it's broken and full of blood. "

But he pressed the jacket to his face and wept. It smelled of leather, of wolf, wind and weather. But mostly it smelled of Benny. " Please, Ma..." She let him. He kept the jacket in his room. The whole time. 

As Ben awoke from the coma after ten days and it was clear that he would survive, Ray decided to repair the jacket. Although he didn't know how, but he knew he had to do it.  
He had ruined Benny's jacket, so he also had to repair it. A childish thought, but it gave him hope somehow. When Ben's leather jacket was whole again, Ben would be healthy again. 

It took a while, but then he had an idea.  
JOEY PADUCCI!  
He was a shoemaker and could deal with leather. Finally, he had his shop neighbor stitch this great leather dress, which Ben had been sniffing.  
He chuckled at the thought. He took the jacket to Joey. He owed him something, because he'd saved him from Frank Zuko and showed him the jacket. He explained the situation and what had happened to Fraser. Joey said, repairing the bullet hole would be no problem, but the leather was so soaked with blood that he didn't know if it could ever be removed. But he also said, he knew someone who would try at least.

Ray agreed, no matter what it cost. Joey said, the hole he would fix for free. After all, Ray and the Mountie had saved his life and Fraser was beaten up pretty badly by Zuko's goons.  
But the cleaning, if it succeeded, would cost him a lot. Maybe it would be better to buy a new jacket. 

Ray said he wouldn't do it. First, you could probably only get this jacket in Canada and second, a new one wasn't as personal as the repair of this one. This jacket smelled of Benny. No one would understand. 

Benny seemed to have an oral fixation, always licking stuff or sticking it in his mouth. So Ray was probably the olfactory type. Well, everyone probably had his quirks.  
Anyway, Joey said he would do what he could. However, it would probably take a while.  
But Ray said, it didn't matter, because Ben was still in the hospital and would probably have to stay there longer.

When Ben was a week at the Vecchio's, Joey called and said the jacket was fixed.

After work, Ray went to Joey's and picked it up. But for the cleaning, he had to pay so much that he could have gotten almost a new one, but it was worth it.  
It looked like new. Only if you looked very closely could you see, where Ray's bullet hole used to be. And at the areas where the blood had been it was a little brighter and faded, but it didn't matter. It looked great. Ray was happy.

When he came home that night, he first went in Ben's room. Ben was laying in bed and looked rather pale. Ray was concerned, but Ben assured him that he was okay and Ma Vecchio had taken good care of him.  
"I have something for you.", Ray said, handing him the bag.

With a frown, Ben looked into it and pulled out the contents.  
It took a few seconds before he realized what he was holding in his hands. But then a glow passed over his face and he had the widest grin that Ray had ever seen.  
" My jacket! Thank you, Ray!"

Yes, Benny's jacket was whole again. Just like Benny himself and their friendship.  
With a smile on his face, Ray fell asleep.

 

TYK


End file.
